Non lieu

Application Festival FACT

Location: Saint- Denis (FR)

The proposed project aims to reclaim the banks of the Île Saint-Denis for the island's residents.

The concept is to create a space blending interior and exterior, drawing on symbolic forms inspired by the imagination of vernacular constructions.

We aim to provide modules that adapt to the site’s morphology, using doors and staircases that are easily identifiable and capable of creating intimate, intermediary spaces within public areas. Like an urban land art piece, these installations not only bring aesthetic shapes but also offer functional, usable spaces. Visitors are literally "at home" as they sit on these large steps, enjoying the "frames" provided. These doorframe-inspired structures create a poetic, unexpected scale shift, enhancing the experience between the two environments we have selected.Two sites identified by the FACT 2015 are suitable to host this project. The Quai des Moulins, with its already intimate character and the visual break imposed by the wall along the riverbank, will host a module allowing visitors to sit at eye level, fully taking in the Seine view. The wide steps will add an urban feel, offering a broad seating area conducive to conversation. The frame above the wall will interact with the lines structuring the landscape of this location. Under the A86 motorway, another installation will take shape, allowing a radical contrast in scale between the project’s module and the massive, dynamic lines of the bridge. Two doors at each end of the riverbank slope and steps arranged like bleachers will define an intimate space—strangely both inside and outside—transforming the non-place of the motorway into a landscape to contemplate. The modules will be constructed from locally sourced wood and, where possible, reused doors, further reinforcing the project’s sustainable approach.

Artists: Marta Pasquetti, Nicolas Atlè.